I may need to till my no-till garden

[Chuck]

Phew… just a quick update if anyone would like to know. I’ve done three rounds of layering a couple inches of compost (sometimes a bag of raised garden bed mix) and turn turn turned… The clumps are honestly as good as it’s gonna get for now. But I did half the work last week, and this week there’s already a monumental difference in soil structure.

I’m going to begin the molasses treatment now. @Chuck I’m assuming I should probably throw down some hardwood mulch or something while this sits in the July/august heat? Texas Native makes a really good partially broken down organic hardwood mulch.

And of course what’s a post without pics!
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A couple of inches of mulch on top would be great. Remember the 30%. Molasses will speed up the breaking down of the compost. Just keep it moist. Between now and the 15th would be a good time to start your tomato's for a fall garden. Set them out about Sept 1

 

[Lmbauer2017]

A couple of inches of mulch on top would be great. Remember the 30%. Molasses will speed up the breaking down of the compost. Just keep it moist. Between now and the 15th would be a good time to start your tomato's for a fall garden. Set them out about Sept 1

Awesome sounds good! Thanks again for the help. I’ll get the tomatoes going in a week or so. PS we’ve been having some rain which has been cooling things off a bit, and it’s enough that a couple tomato flowers that actually set fruit! We’ll see if they survive the heat.

 

[mac1911]

Phew… just a quick update if anyone would like to know. I’ve done three rounds of layering a couple inches of compost (sometimes a bag of raised garden bed mix) and turn turn turned… The clumps are honestly as good as it’s gonna get for now. But I did half the work last week, and this week there’s already a monumental difference in soil structure.

I’m going to begin the molasses treatment now. @Chuck I’m assuming I should probably throw down some hardwood mulch or something while this sits in the July/august heat? Texas Native makes a really good partially broken down organic hardwood mulch.

And of course what’s a post without pics!
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Awesome, love to see up dates on products. Been working over my garden as well

 

[Lmbauer2017]

Alrighty here’s my final update for now. Dropped about 2-3 inches of partially broken down shredded hardwood mulch, dumped some molasses and letting it settle. I’m not sure if my HOA is going to gain any authority soon so I spruced it up with some garden stones and trimmed all the dead hedges (they froze last year and I’ve been ignoring them because I hate them). The path down the middle is so I can reach both sides without stepping on the soil and compacting it any more (I’m very paranoid about pressing this stuff down now after what i did to my backyard “no-dig” garden).

Got my tomato seedlings started and have some couple week old pepper seedlings that I may drop in in a month or so. I lost power and internet for a day and completely forgot my timer is a WiFi switch…. So they’re a bit yellow. But they’ll perk up in a day or two hopefully

I forgot the light wouldn't turn on if I lost internet for a day... oops... I turned the light on about 2 hours before taking this picture.

 

[Lmbauer2017]

More updates!

It's been a month since I amended this front yard. I've added 2 treatments of molasses and broadforked the whole thing (using a pitchfork) to try and bring some air into it. I began planting my first flowers to test the waters a bit. Digging up the soil I could tell a phenomenal difference in the workability of it! It still has a long ways to go, but I think plants just may survive in it. We'll see how well these wildflowers do. I have a purple coneflower in the back, then 2 yarrows (have been sitting in a pot that constantly dries out and gets no sun) and dead front center is a coreopsis called "Nana" which is my favorite (was also sitting in a poorly treated pot behind the house).

At the front of the sidewalk entrance is a Mexican Heather (wonderful pollinator and seemingly impossible to kill) on the left and a BEAUTIFUL gaillardia (blanket flower) on the right... well when it's fresh blooming it's beautiful lol. The two clones behind them on either side are from a large esparanza tree that I stuck in a pot a few months back. I was surprised they took root so easily! They were poorly rootbound and solely surviving on my periodic water soluble feedings so forgive the yellowed leaves. But these babies will produce tons of bright yellow trumpet flowers once they grow a bit. The two shrubs behind the esparanzas in blue pots are blueberries. They've been getting a pretty gnarly fungus on them that I'm not exactly sure what to do with at this point... (I'll also probably plant these into the ground. I was hesitant because I wanted to take them with me if we moved )

Still counting down the days to cooler weather and planting some tomatoes/peppers/herbs in this thing. My seedlings are getting big quicker than I thought so I'm a bit nervous I started them too soon. But time will tell...

Sorry for the ramble, it's just nice to see some slight semblance of my plan unfolding finally! Thanks to everyone for all the input and helping me make this happen

 

[Chuck]

Lookin good. I seriously doubt if you will be successful with blueberries though. The soil in Houston just isn't the correct Ph, it's too high. Keep on with the molasses.

 

[Lmbauer2017]

Lookin good. I seriously doubt if you will be successful with blueberries though. The soil in Houston just isn't the correct Ph, it's too high. Keep on with the molasses.

I was wondering about that myself. I may just put them in much larger pots if that's the case. We bought them from Buchannan's Native Plants in the Heights and they had a lot of blueberries on them already, but then I brought them home and they all got eaten by stinkbug nymphs!

 

[Chuck]

I was wondering about that myself. I may just put them in much larger pots if that's the case. We bought them from Buchannan's Native Plants in the Heights and they had a lot of blueberries on them already, but then I brought them home and they all got eaten by stinkbug nymphs!

I have seen semi-successful blueberries grown in East Texas but the soil Ph was around 5 - 5.5. I guess you could grow them in large pots in mostly peat but not in the ground.

 

[Meadowlark]

I've had some success with blueberries in ph of 5.9 north of Livingston...but it also takes a lot of water especially in July and August.

Still counting down the days to cooler weather and planting some tomatoes/peppers/herbs in this thing. My seedlings are getting big quicker than I thought so I'm a bit nervous I started them too soon. But time will tell...

Your space is looking very good, and I think you will definitely like the results from the "pitch fork" exercise.

I'm counting the days also for weather change and anxious to get my fall crops going. Unfortunately, its going to be several before that happens.

 

[Lmbauer2017]

I've had some success with blueberries in ph of 5.9 north of Livingston...but it also takes a lot of water especially in July and August.


Your space is looking very good, and I think you will definitely like the results from the "pitch fork" exercise.

I'm counting the days also for weather change and anxious to get my fall crops going. Unfortunately, its going to be several before that happens.

Do you have any experience with broadforking? I’m wondering if I should do it one more time in a couple weeks or if it’s not supposed to be done that often. Not a lot of info on the internet of how OFTEN to do it… just on HOW to do it lol.

 

[Chuck]

You probably don't have to do it again this year. You might turn over a spot or two and see if there are many big clods. Even if you do find big clods it doesn't mean that you should turn it over again because using molasses on a regular basis will get rid of clods. On my big garden a garden spade a shovel and a rake was all I had. I just turned it over once but I used molasses a lot and after a couple of years there were no more clods. And another reason I didn't turn it over was it was 1/4 acre and a ton of manual work. This garden was made into raised beds instead of rows and during planting row crops each raised bed was turned over completely. On the beds where I had transplants it was turned over totally about every three years as I didn't put a plant in the same spot more than one year. Having said this, there is nothing wrong with turning it over again and if you do it would be a great time to incorporate more well composted compost. Attached is a picture early in the season and just before planting of most of my big garden.

 

[Meadowlark]

Soils need oxygenation. Weeds should be controlled. Cover crops should be incorporated into the soil. How you choose to do it is dealers' choice as far as I'm concerned...but do it when needed.

 

[Lmbauer2017]

Soils need oxygenation. Weeds should be controlled. Cover crops should be incorporated into the soil. How you choose to do it is dealers' choice as far as I'm concerned...but do it when needed.

My exact thoughts/concerns. I’d test the soil with a moisture meter and it’d be soaked even after not watering for a week in 100+ weather. I hoped creating some cracks/airing it out would help the water evaporate or anything. Trying to avoid stepping anywhere on it at all cost as it’s so fluffy now which has been unheard of on this property lol.

You probably don't have to do it again this year. You might turn over a spot or two and see if there are many big clods. Even if you do find big clods it doesn't mean that you should turn it over again because using molasses on a regular basis will get rid of clods. On my big garden a garden spade a shovel and a rake was all I had. I just turned it over once but I used molasses a lot and after a couple of years there were no more clods. And another reason I didn't turn it over was it was 1/4 acre and a ton of manual work. This garden was made into raised beds instead of rows and during planting row crops each raised bed was turned over completely. On the beds where I had transplants it was turned over totally about every three years as I didn't put a plant in the same spot more than one year. Having said this, there is nothing wrong with turning it over again and if you do it would be a great time to incorporate more well composted compost. Attached is a picture early in the season and just before planting of most of my big garden.

Nice! Man you can really see the color change in the soil too… I really appreciate the practicality of not sweating over the soil so much and just planting. The other day I dug into the front yard with my hand and was SHOCKED at how easy it was to dig down after the sun should’ve baked this into a solid slab… there are plenty of small mud chunks still, but the difference between now and a month ago is unreal…

 

[Chuck]

My exact thoughts/concerns. I’d test the soil with a moisture meter and it’d be soaked even after not watering for a week in 100+ weather. I hoped creating some cracks/airing it out would help the water evaporate or anything. Trying to avoid stepping anywhere on it at all cost as it’s so fluffy now which has been unheard of on this property lol.


Nice! Man you can really see the color change in the soil too… I really appreciate the practicality of not sweating over the soil so much and just planting. The other day I dug into the front yard with my hand and was SHOCKED at how easy it was to dig down after the sun should’ve baked this into a solid slab… there are plenty of small mud chunks still, but the difference between now and a month ago is unreal…

About a month before you plant your transplants cover the entire bed about 1-2 inches deep with compost and soak it with molasses @ 2 oz per gallon of water. There won't be any lumps. Then when you transplant add granular fertilizer to the soil you took out of the transplant hole. Plant your plant and then jump backwards as the growth will astound you.

 

[Oliver Buckle]

Plant your plant and then jump backwards

That brought back a memory. I had been reading a book on propagating and mentioned most cuttings were about nine inches and pencil thickness, until I came to willow, "Take a piece about six feet long and an inch to an inch and a half thick, make a good deep hole with a crowbar and put it in." it read. "And stand back quickly" said Dad.

 

[Lmbauer2017]

Updates!

This one is a bit delayed as I've been swamped at work! I got the plants in the ground last week. It's been raining off and on for the past couple weeks, and I'm not too confident on the texture of the soil I planted them in. It was like loose chunky mud... but I HAD to get them out of those pots. The pictures show them immediately after planting, but I gave them a huge dose of fish emulsion and they perked right up after a few hours. One week later they're still looking good and growing a bit! I haven't been home enough to get a good picture of them now, but I will post one tomorrow in the daylight.

P.S. - I plan on adding more boarder rocks along the rest of the garden (the curving part that's flooded) and raising it up with a lot of extra clay/dirt dug-up from the beginning of this project. Right now all of it is in a pile resting in my backyard. I've been amending it with whatever excess soil/compost/organic material. So hopefully it won't be pure clay when I do get around to using it.

 

[Lmbauer2017]

Here’s some pics of them today after a week of settling in. It’s lightly drizzled every day and kept everything nice and wet
Honestly they look better than I was expecting. Today we were planting some flowers around and I realized the whole area had a slight ammonia scent (like the bathroom of a gas station or dive bar) which I’d imagine is the soil not getting enough oxygen. I went around with the pitchfork again and tried to lift up some sections of soil. Not sure how much it does, but anything at this point would be better than nothing.

Anyways, I’ll keep y’all posted

 

[DirtMechanic]

Back to your question about when to broadfork, it is best when roots are growing just like aeration. You will damage fine roots and they need recovery time. You may find yourself working summer plant areas at different times than cool season plant areas as things go along.

 

[Lmbauer2017]

Howdy y’all!

This bed hasn’t been watered yet. It’s just so waterlogged. I wasn’t expecting much out of it though as I know the soil still has a way to go before becoming non-clay.

A couple tomato plants are showing a sign of either an iron deficiency or lack of oxygen… (my money is on the latter). I’m not sure if there’s much I can do about the lack of oxygen other than lightly broadforking near/underneath it. Any ideas?

 

[Chuck]

Howdy y’all!

This bed hasn’t been watered yet. It’s just so waterlogged. I wasn’t expecting much out of it though as I know the soil still has a way to go before becoming non-clay.

A couple tomato plants are showing a sign of either an iron deficiency or lack of oxygen… (my money is on the latter). I’m not sure if there’s much I can do about the lack of oxygen other than lightly broadforking near/underneath it. Any ideas?

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How much rain have you had to make you think they are getting too much water or a lack of oxygen. The only thing I would do is give the pepper plants either Liquid Iron or Chelated Iron as they look a little off. In picture #3 it shows a bright yellow color at the base of new growth. This is normal and the plant will grow out of it. Everything looks pretty good. Just hope you start getting the proper temperatures for fruit set on the tomatoes.